Cassata
Description
Delicious pastry for the whole family. This tasty and juicy cake dessert is traditionally prepared in Sicily and is very popular among tourists. But you don't need to travel to Italy to try this dessert. I'll tell you. Serve cooled or slightly warm.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
First, we will bake the sponge cake. Beat the eggs with regular and vanilla sugar into a fluffy foam for about 10 minutes. Then add the flour sifted with baking powder and mix.
- 2
Step 2
Pour the batter into a pan lined with parchment paper.
- 3
Step 3
And bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. Baking time always varies—it depends on the oven and the pan. I use a 26 cm pan. Check for doneness with a wooden skewer. Let the cake cool and rest for at least 2 hours.
- 4
Step 4
Then cut the sponge cake into 3 layers.
- 5
Step 5
I have this kind of ricotta, it's a creamy cheese made from whey. The cream can be made using only ricotta, while the cream is used to decorate the cake.
- 6
Step 6
I prepared the cream by mixing whipped cream and ricotta. Whip the cream with sugar until fluffy and stiff. Add ricotta and beat well. Add sugar to taste and whip again. Set aside some of the cream for decoration.
- 7
Step 7
Chop the chocolate (using a knife, not a grater, so that small pieces remain). Cut the candied fruit into small pieces, remembering to set aside some for decoration. Chop the nuts.
- 8
Step 8
Add candied fruits, chocolate, and nuts to the cream, mix well. My candied fruits are kumquat and cranberries. Cranberries can be soaked for about 30 minutes in brandy.
- 9
Step 9
And we proceed to assemble the cassata. We cut the bottom biscuit layer like this. The center matches the size of the bottom of the pan in which we'll assemble the cake. Line the pan with plastic wrap.
- 10
Step 10
And place the sponge cake pieces.
- 11
Step 11
Dilute cherry syrup to taste, you can add liqueur. Soak the biscuit.
- 12
Step 12
Place a little more than half of the cream and spread it evenly over the entire surface of the sponge cake.
- 13
Step 13
From the middle cake layer, cut out a circle and place it on the cream, pressing gently. Sprinkle with syrup and spread with cream.
- 14
Step 14
And cut a circle from the third part of the biscuit to fit the size of our mold. Soak it with syrup.
- 15
Step 15
Cover the cake with it, press gently. Leave in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
- 16
Step 16
Remove the cake from the mold; this is how it turned out for me.
- 17
Step 17
And spread the remaining cream over it.
- 18
Step 18
Use your imagination to decorate the cake. I decorated mine with chopped leftover pieces, crushed chocolate, and sliced almonds arranged from the bottom to the top around the sides. The top is adorned with candied fruits and preserved crab apples.
- 19
Step 19
This is how the cake looks when sliced. Very delicious!